In bee keeping the bees wax and honey is formed in hives on wood or the like frames which when they are initially placed in the hive have a bees wax liner extending on wires across the frame to form a foundation for a comb which is formed by the bees. The foundation having comb shaped recesses formed in the bees wax and on which the bees themselves form their own combs. In practice when the frames are removed from the hive for collection or extraction of the honey the initial step is to remove from the frame the cappings on the comb. These cappings are a mixture of bees wax and honey which have to be separated into wax and honey. A frame with foundation liner normally weighs about 1/2 lb while a full frame can weigh up to about 10 lbs.
In the past a number of methods have been used to separate bees wax and honey, for example they have been separated by heating the mixed bees wax and honey and allowing the heavier honey to settle out. This procedure is time consuming as it takes from 12 to 48 hours for the process to be completed. Another method of honey extraction used in the past has relied on the effect of a centrifugal force tending to draw the honey from the honey combs. No system known to the applicant has been able to support the combs against the stresses of such a centrifugal force. A "Pender" semi-radial extractor used in Australia presented combs at right angles to the centrifugal force thus having had a great weight of honey trapped on the inside which tends to create severe breakages in the combs. "Pender" and "Cowan" full radial extractors as used in Australia and U.S.A. respectively presented combs along the central axis and had the advantage of dual extraction from both sides at once; but the problem of a force breaking combs remains. In both of these above types of extractor the speed of operation must be carefully and continuously controlled to minimize stress build up. Average times for extraction are:
full radial--15-20 minutes--50-70 frames PA1 semi radial--12-17 minutes--8-12 frames PA1 packing a plurality of combs tightly together in a spinner which has a plurality of holes in the periphery thereof; PA1 rotating the spinner so that honey in the combs flows outward from the centre of the spinner to the outside until the honey passes through the holes for collection. PA1 forming a generally cylindrical spinner with a plurality of holes in the periphery thereof; PA1 mounting in the cylindrical spinner a cone shaped base; PA1 mounting the spinner with its longitudinal axis vertical within a vat which has a drain aperture in the base thereof; PA1 either placing in the spinner the cappings from the hive frames or packing the cylinder with a plurality of hive frames with the honey comb therewith; PA1 rotating the spinner to cause the honey and wax to separate and the honey to flow outwardly and through the holes in the periphery of the spinner for collection from the vat.